Intergenerational Variations of Soft Skills Among Secondary Public School Teachers and its Contribution to School Based Management (SBM)

Abstract

The study examined intergenerational differences in soft skills among secondary public-school teachers and their contributions on the implementation of School-Based Management (SBM) in Districts 1 and 2 of San Remigio, Cebu. A convergent parallel research design was employed Quantitative data were collected from 187 secondary public-school teachers using an adapted questionnaire. Most respondents were female, identified as Generation Y or Millennials, had 1 to 10 years of teaching experience, held Master's units, and were ranked Teacher 1. The respondents exhibited a Very High Level of Soft Skills. Among the evaluated dimensions, work ethics ranked highest, followed by teamwork and time management. Problem-solving received the lowest ranking, although it was still classified as High Soft Skills. Teachers faced several main challenges when trying to use soft skills, such as: difficulty in finding solutions without revisiting underlying causes; difficulty in expressing thoughts clearly, leading to misunderstandings; and difficulty in providing motivating and effective criticism. Overall, there was no significant relationship between the respondents’ profile variables and their soft skills levels. However, there was a slight relationship between length of service and adaptability or flexibility, as well as between rank and problem-solving skills. No significant variation in perceived soft skills was observed among teachers across generational cohorts. Teachers from different generations demonstrated comparable abilities in communication, teamwork, leadership, adaptability, time management, and work ethics.